Rate My Purchase: Time Capsule ’99 LX470 — Torn on What to Do With It (3 Viewers)

[kunu]

Hey MUD — longtime lurker here. I’ve been hunting for a clean 100-series for months and finally found what feels like a unicorn… or at least a serious dealership blind spot.

Picked up this 1999 LX470 with 122k miles, rust-free, from a Nissan dealer in North Carolina that listed it for $12K. Drove it 750 miles back to Illinois without a single issue. The thing floats — AHC works beautifully, as well as all electronics.

Here’s the rundown:

• 122,000 miles
• Rust-free NC/FL truck
• AHC fully functional
• Clean CARFAX, no accidents
• Dealer replaced both front CVs + intermediate steering shaft
• Engine bay and undercarriage are shockingly clean
• Original interior in mint shape
• Drives tight, no wandering, no weird sounds, no CELs

Carfax shows 5 owners, but looks like one household owned it from 2002–2024. Title moved from NC to FL when they started using it as a vacation vehicle at their Florida home. From 2016 to 2024, it was driven ~300 miles/year. No gaps, no shady flips — just a seriously underused survivor.

MY DILEMMA:
I’m in Illinois — the rust belt — and this truck feels too clean to daily through winter salt and snow. Now I’m torn:

• Do I keep it and baby it as a summer rig or long-haul hauler?
• Do I flip it after a $2K baseline? (I am by no means a flipper)
• Or trade it for a higher-mile LC/LX I can daily guilt-free?

I honestly don’t want to let it go — I’ve never driven something that rides this smooth — but I feel guilty subjecting it to the elements. This is easily the cleanest 100 I’ve ever seen in person.

Would love your take — did I score? preserve, flip, or daily?

Advise and insight appreciated!

 

[Exiled]

IMHO, that's a keeper. You might never again come across a super clean truck like that for what you paid for it. Do the baseline, apply Fluid Film regularly, and enjoy it!

 

[excessive]

you can drive the truck all winter long in the salt, as long as you protect it properly. Read up on using Fluid film or Surface Shield. If you cant do it properly yourself, take it to a professional.

 

[rmspider16]

Oh man, I can completely relate. Just picked up a stunning 2003 lx470 from vegas (Hyundai dealer trade in). Absolutely rust free. Like zero…. I live in Utah. Got this vehicle for camping and longer trips. It’s so nice, I’m totally going OCD detailing it and doing tons of prevent maintenance on it (all fluids and changing lots of rubber lines). I don’t know if I can ever take this off road. I’m also not willing to take it in snow at this point. I plan to probably park it during winter and only use it on sunny (dry) winter days. Wife is giving me tons of crap about how I’m treating it like a baby and afraid to drive it.

It’s probably better for me to sell this one and get one with more “character” so I’m less afraid to use it. It’s just so nice I don’t want to let it go.

 

[Girl Dad of 3]

Hey MUD — longtime lurker here. I’ve been hunting for a clean 100-series for months and finally found what feels like a unicorn… or at least a serious dealership blind spot.

Picked up this 1999 LX470 with 122k miles, rust-free, from a Nissan dealer in North Carolina that listed it for $12K. Drove it 750 miles back to Illinois without a single issue. The thing floats — AHC works beautifully, as well as all electronics.

Here’s the rundown:

• 122,000 miles
• Rust-free NC/FL truck
• AHC fully functional
• Clean CARFAX, no accidents
• Dealer replaced both front CVs + intermediate steering shaft
• Engine bay and undercarriage are shockingly clean
• Original interior in mint shape
• Drives tight, no wandering, no weird sounds, no CELs

Carfax shows 5 owners, but looks like one household owned it from 2002–2024. Title moved from NC to FL when they started using it as a vacation vehicle at their Florida home. From 2016 to 2024, it was driven ~300 miles/year. No gaps, no shady flips — just a seriously underused survivor.

MY DILEMMA:
I’m in Illinois — the rust belt — and this truck feels too clean to daily through winter salt and snow. Now I’m torn:

• Do I keep it and baby it as a summer rig or long-haul hauler?
• Do I flip it after a $2K baseline? (I am by no means a flipper)
• Or trade it for a higher-mile LC/LX I can daily guilt-free?

I honestly don’t want to let it go — I’ve never driven something that rides this smooth — but I feel guilty subjecting it to the elements. This is easily the cleanest 100 I’ve ever seen in person.

Would love your take — did I score? preserve, flip, or daily?

Advise and insight appreciated!View attachment 3919918
View attachment 3919941View attachment 3919939View attachment 3919940

That’s a beauty and a great deal. It was made to be driven and enjoyed. Drive and enjoy it!

 

[kunu]

Oh man, I can completely relate. Just picked up a stunning 2003 lx470 from vegas (Hyundai dealer trade in). Absolutely rust free. Like zero…. I live in Utah. Got this vehicle for camping and longer trips. It’s so nice, I’m totally going OCD detailing it and doing tons of prevent maintenance on it (all fluids and changing lots of rubber lines). I don’t know if I can ever take this off road. I’m also not willing to take it in snow at this point. I plan to probably park it during winter and only use it on sunny (dry) winter days. Wife is giving me tons of crap about how I’m treating it like a baby and afraid to drive it.

It’s probably better for me to sell this one and get one with more “character” so I’m less afraid to use it. It’s just so nice I don’t want to let it go.

Man! This literally sounds like you’re describing me! I’m so protective over it right now…. “I think you like this car more than me” -girlfriend

I’m completely torn. A truck with character already would be so freeing. Never thought I’d have an Offroad vehicle that felt “too nice” to take off road

 

[SteveH]

If you have the space, money, and desire to have it as a '2nd vehicle' (as it were) then don't DD it. I have a nice FJ40 and an FJ62, and my 100 has 340K miles, so I just DD it and keep ahead of rust and wear and tear. I enjoy the truck every time I go somewhere.

 

[Exiled]

Guys, I think you may be overthinking it. Despite the veneer of respectability Toyota instilled in the US-spec 100s and LX470s with the metallic paints and "luxury" options, they remain essentially a vehicle designed to take on the worst conditions that Australia, the Middle East, South America and Africa have to offer. You all may have chanced upon nice, clean, well-maintained rigs, but they're not rare enough to justify keeping them in a garage forever (my opinion). Use them, enjoy them, go explore, go get lost out there, use them as they were intended to be used!

I bought my '99 with 70K miles, one owner, used as a commuter car in Scottsdale, AZ. I've put 170K additional miles on it, taken it offroad hundreds of times, including trips out to Utah, Colorado, Idaho, West Texas and New Mexico, done some iconic trails with it. Over the years it gained trail rash, pin-striping and a few dents. The AZ and Texas sun burned the clear coat off and the upholstery degraded over time. Besides the functional upgrades (suspension, armor, auxiliary fuel tank, roof rack, RTT, lights) , I had the truck painted and replaced the upholstery 7 years ago. A week after new paint and new leather, she was on the trails in Moab and Colorado again.

She still looks pretty good for 26, and I cannot tell you how much satisfaction I've gotten out of this truck over the years.

Go use your trucks, amigos!

 

[kunu]

Guys, I think you may be overthinking it. Despite the veneer of respectability Toyota instilled in the US-spec 100s and LX470s with the metallic paints and "luxury" options, they remain essentially a vehicle designed to take on the worst conditions that Australia, the Middle East, South America and Africa have to offer. You all may have chanced upon nice, clean, well-maintained rigs, but they're not rare enough to justify keeping them in a garage forever (my opinion). Use them, enjoy them, go explore, go get lost out there, use them as they were intended to be used!

I bought my '99 with 70K miles, one owner, used as a commuter car in Scottsdale, AZ. I've put 170K additional miles on it, taken it offroad hundreds of times, including trips out to Utah, Colorado, Idaho, West Texas and New Mexico, done some iconic trails with it. Over the years it gained trail rash, pin-striping and a few dents. The AZ and Texas sun burned the clear coat off and the upholstery degraded over time. Besides the functional upgrades (suspension, armor, auxiliary fuel tank, roof rack, RTT, lights) , I had the truck painted and replaced the upholstery 7 years ago. A week after new paint and new leather, she was on the trails in Moab and Colorado again.

She still looks pretty good for 26, and I cannot tell you how much satisfaction I've gotten out of this truck over the years.

View attachment 3920034

Go use your trucks, amigos!

Hell yeah

 

[Devils Paw 80]

How many snow days do ya get there? Fluid film, don't modify and drive all year.

 

[kunu]

How many snow days do ya get there? Fluid film, don't modify and drive all year.

Probably 10 days of 1+ inches. But 20-25 “days where we get snow”…. Our salt trucks tend to treat those with respect too

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Probably 10 days of 1+ inches. But 20-25 “days where we get snow”…. Our salt trucks tend to treat those with respect too

My personal solution is now to be gone in the winter.

A fellow 80 owner in JNU all year fluid filmed his with great results, until wrecking it on ice coming down from our ski hill. We typically get many more snow/ice days than that. I don't see any undercarriage rust on his now, where it currently sits.

 

[delz05]

Hey MUD — longtime lurker here. I’ve been hunting for a clean 100-series for months and finally found what feels like a unicorn… or at least a serious dealership blind spot.

Picked up this 1999 LX470 with 122k miles, rust-free, from a Nissan dealer in North Carolina that listed it for $12K. Drove it 750 miles back to Illinois without a single issue. The thing floats — AHC works beautifully, as well as all electronics.

Here’s the rundown:

• 122,000 miles
• Rust-free NC/FL truck
• AHC fully functional
• Clean CARFAX, no accidents
• Dealer replaced both front CVs + intermediate steering shaft
• Engine bay and undercarriage are shockingly clean
• Original interior in mint shape
• Drives tight, no wandering, no weird sounds, no CELs

Carfax shows 5 owners, but looks like one household owned it from 2002–2024. Title moved from NC to FL when they started using it as a vacation vehicle at their Florida home. From 2016 to 2024, it was driven ~300 miles/year. No gaps, no shady flips — just a seriously underused survivor.

MY DILEMMA:
I’m in Illinois — the rust belt — and this truck feels too clean to daily through winter salt and snow. Now I’m torn:

• Do I keep it and baby it as a summer rig or long-haul hauler?
• Do I flip it after a $2K baseline? (I am by no means a flipper)
• Or trade it for a higher-mile LC/LX I can daily guilt-free?

I honestly don’t want to let it go — I’ve never driven something that rides this smooth — but I feel guilty subjecting it to the elements. This is easily the cleanest 100 I’ve ever seen in person.

Would love your take — did I score? preserve, flip, or daily?

Advise and insight appreciated!View attachment 3919918
View attachment 3919941View attachment 3919939View attachment 3919940

Three simple options as I see it. Have the underside coated with woolwax along with the internal frame and crossmembers. WoolWax does not smell like fluidfilm and lasts longer. Option 2, I’ll gladly fly out to Illinois, drive it home to New England and enjoy the hell out of it, handing you a nice profit. But of course the third option is to check out the values on BAT and carsandbids.com, you may want to go that route if you’re looking to move it

 

[Specialeyes]

Sounds like you scored a really clean rig at a really good price. Keep it, drive it, and consider yourself fortunate! In my neck of the woods a comparable 100 would easily be listed at double, maybe even triple what you paid!

 

[andrewderrick]

How much do you want for it?
I'll offer $12k and a 6 pack?

 

[HookTN]

Great find! Your situation sounds really close to mine. I found a 06 LX-470 with low miles (59K) 3 ytears ago. It now has 112K miles. LIke you, I am torn with what to do with it. Keep it original or built an overland/camping rig, or sell it and get a Gen5 4Runner and built that.

 

[Import Driver]

Three simple options as I see it. Have the underside coated with woolwax along with the internal frame and crossmembers. WoolWax does not smell like fluidfilm and lasts longer.

I Agree with all of that.

 

[NeedaLX]

Given the price and what you describe as a well sorted vehicle, I don't get wanting to downgrade. Drive and enjoy, a $12K, 25 year old truck sounds like the perfect winter DD

I recently purchased an '06 LX with 90K miles for considerably more, with the intent to drive it in the winter... It won't feel good subjecting a rust free frame to road salt but my thought process was simply that starting with zero rust would be a lot better than starting with any, if I plan to keep for a while

While it will never look as clean as the day I bought it, with regular coatings and upkeep I don't see any reason it can't last me as long as I need it to

 

[gregdawg89]

There are a number of products than can protect from rust. I'd get it thoroughly treated and then go and enjoy it!